Paddy Spence and Northwood Ventures Announce Strategic Investment in Zevia

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) September 28, 2010

Paddy Spence, a veteran of the natural/organic packaged goods industry, and Northwood Ventures, a leading private equity investor in the branded consumer sector, announced today an investment in Zevia LLC, a leading natural calorie-free soda brand. In only three years, the Zevia

Chronicle Books and Minted Announce the Winners of their Joint Stationery Design Challenge

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) July 08, 2011

Minted (http://www.minted.com), the online store powered by a global design community, and independent book publisher Chronicle Books have announced the winners of The Chronicle Books-Minted Design Challenge. Designers from around the world were invited to submit custom stationery designs to Minted in a unique color scheme that Chronicle Books chose. This marks the first time that Minted has acted as an agent for sourcing content for another retailer.

Chronicle Books Executive Editor Christina Amini and her colleagues chose four designs from the 657 submissions, which will be printed as ready-made stationery and distributed in notecard portfolios by Chronicle Books, and as personalized stationery on Minted. The four designs will be offered in one Best of Minted notecards portfolio, complete with envelopes and the name of the designer featured on the back of each individual card, and will be sold on Chronicles website at http://www.chroniclebooks.com, in Chronicle Book stores, and in boutiques and bookstores around the world.

In addition to Chronicles picks, the Minted community voted to determine the top twenty submitted designs to be sold as custom stationery on Minted. In total, over 100 new designs were selected for sale on Minted. In addition to ongoing commissions on the sales of their work from both Minted and Chronicle Books, $ 10,000 in cash prizes was awarded.

The Pantone colors selected by Chronicle Books inspired our design community to produce the most beautiful and innovative personal stationery designs ever, says Minted CEO & Founder Mariam Naficy. Were thrilled with this first-ever partnership where we have produced design content for another retailer.

This is the first time Chronicle has sourced stationery design through a design competition and we could not have been more pleased with the result, says Christina Amini, Executive Editor, Chronicle Books. Our only difficulty was struggling to pick just four designs! The Minted design community is beyond talented and were thankful to have a role in sharing that talent with the world.

Chronicle's Selections:

Spring in Bloom, by Kelly Maron Horvath

Pretty Poppies, by Paper Dahlia

Ballooning, by Momo

Crosshatch Confetti, by Annie Clark

The four winning designers commented on the inspiration behind their designs:

Kelly Maron Horvath: When I read that the Chronicle Books team was looking for over-the-top-pretty-designs, I knew I wanted to do something with flowers. I know that seems obvious but wanted to make them these modern, graphic flowers instead. Their color palette also really helped to amplify this idea of a bright, spring-time feel with a modern twist.

Paper Dahlia: Pretty Poppies is inspired by wood block and etching printmaking techniques. The heaviness of the poppies is balanced by the delicate detail of the herringbone background pattern.

Momo: Die cuts, blogs and Esquire magazine were my main sources of inspiration. Die cuts help me decide on shapes and color relationships. Blogs allow me to see all the amazing work thats already out there. Esquire magazine is full of great design elements and inspired me to use texture in my design. I wanted to create something that would make people smile. Ive never been in a hot air balloon, but they have such a recognizable shape and look like fun!

Annie Clark: Crosshatch Confetti is the design that I would want to purchase Im slightly obsessed with confetti right now and have always loved polka dots. I played with the crosshatch texture and made the circles slightly irregular in shape to make it more than just your everyday polka dot pattern.

About Chronicle Books:

One of the most admired and respected publishing companies in the United States, Chronicle Books was founded in 1966 and, over the years, has developed a reputation for award-winning, innovative books and quality merchandise. The company continues to challenge conventional publishing wisdom, setting trends in both subject matter and format, maintaining a list that includes titles in fine art, cookbooks, childrens books, music and popular culture. To visit Chronicle Books online, go to chroniclebooks.com.

About Minteds Design Challenges:

Minted's mission is to allow consumers to discover design genius from all over the world, providing an opportunity for designers to build their careers on merit alone. Minted holds monthly design challenges to source designs from a large global community of designers. The Minted community selects the best designs in a highly competitive and meritocratic process, yielding a top selection of the freshest, finest cards in the world. To that end, Minted's 2011 Holiday Card competition was the company's biggest challenge yet: over half a million votes were cast for 2,554 designs, and the top contenders were chosen by Minted's community for sale

About Minted:

Minted is a venture-backed design community and online store, crowd-sourcing graphic designs and content from a global design community and selling those as premium printed paper products initially focused on the $ 10 billion stationery, invitations, and cards market.

Minted has radically transformed what consumers now expect in holiday cards, wedding invitations, save the dates, birth announcements,business cards, and other personal stationery. The company's paper and printing is of the highest quality and it leads the market with the freshest designs, newest formats and most coveted details. Minted's fresh, unique designs have been featured on The Today Show and The Early Show, and in Real Simple, Town & Country, InStyle Weddings, Food & Wine and other major national magazines.

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Adirondack Arts in the Park Announce Summer Event Calendar

Adirondack Region, NY (PRWEB) May 10, 2011

The Adirondack Arts community announces its 2011 summer season highlights, featuring Shakespeare in the Park, Saranac Lake Village Art Walks, free concert series and a new Adirondack art festival that celebrates the artistic history and community of the Adirondacks.

This summer, sit back and enjoy, the rich cultural scene in this New York State Park. Experience the transformative power of the arts through Adirondack arts festivals, events and special performances. Check out http://www.VisitAdirondacks.com for more information.

Arts in the Park - Summer 2011 highlights:

The inaugural Adirondack Arts Heritage Festival in Saranac Lake is slated for June 26- July 4. For nine days, 35 uniquely Adirondack activities span a range of art forms, from fly fishing to historic Saranac Lake walks, to Cure Cottage lore. Join the Adirondack arts community in Saranac Lake for the first heritage celebration of the arts, culminating with a July 4th Parade of Boats on Lake Flower, concert and fireworks.

Free summer concert series kick off every summer in communities throughout the Adirondack Park. In June, Songs at Mirror Lake Music Series kicks off a summer of free musical performances in Mids Park on Main Street, Lake Placid. This free concert series runs every Tuesday through August. The Lake Placid Sinfonietta will also perform six free Wednesday night concerts in Mids Park July through August. Offering classical music fare, the Sinfonietta is the Orchestra of the Adirondacks.

Enjoy the Adirondack Lakes Summer Theatre Festival, featuring 42 performances of six productions in 18 Adirondack towns. Based in Blue Mountain Lake, the theater troupes festival line-up includes: Romeo & Juliet, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Violet, The Conference of Birds, Movie Madness Cabaret and The Rocky Horror Picture Show Live in Concert. For performance dates and locations, log onto AdirondackExperience.com for more information. At the Charles R. Wood Theater near Lake George, the Adirondack Theatre Festival will present The K of D, a ghost story and one-woman play, June 29-July 2.

Join in a tradition 40 years in the making during the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Councils Annual Arts Festival June 11-12 in Glens Falls. This two-day festival features juried arts and craft shows, family activities, food and entertainment. For a complete list of summer concert series, arts festivals, workshops and museum exhibits, log onto VisitAdirondacks.com and map your trip using our interactive trip planner.

The Adirondack Region is a six-million-acre park offering limitless recreation amid 2,000 miles of hiking trails and 3,000 lakes and ponds. Part of the largest temperate forest in the world, the Adirondack Region is also home to 100 towns and villages. The Adirondack Region is a unique park offering year-round recreation and events. Search events, attractions and Adirondack vacation packages at http://www.VisitAdirondacks.com.

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